Page 12 of Save Me

“My Thanksgiving plans are a little lackluster this year,” I joke quietly, but my smile feels forced and doesn’t reach my eyes. I would have loved to spend the holiday with Jax and Ryan, maybe even see Sam as well.

He watches me with a pensive expression on his face but doesn’t say anything.

“I’m getting tired… I’m getting really fucking tired of being here.” I’m surprised by my own confession, the words spilling from my lips before I realize I’m speaking out loud. “It’s been, what? Five days of this bullshit? Of me sitting here being held as collateral. And for what? Money that’ll never come because myboyfriend, the man I thought would quite literally kill for me, can’t be bothered to help me get out of here. What am I doing here if Jax isn’t bringing Rhett his money?”

He shakes his head, his chest seemingly deflating slightly. “I don’t know. Honestly.”

“Whatever. Have a good Thanksgiving. I’ll be here, obviously.”

I walk to the bedroom, not bothering to wait for him to respond.

*

I look atthe lake, at the ripples of water that dance as the wind skirts across it. I’m standing with my face so close to the glass that my warm breath fogs up the window. I wipe it clean with my sleeve, the old fabric itchy against my arm, wishing I could be anywhere but here. I make my way to the bed where I lay down under the blankets and spend the next few hours drifting in and out of sleep, nothing to occupy my mind except Rhett’s words playing on repeat in my head as tears well in my eyes.

I’m not worth worrying about.

He doesn’t want me.

He doesn’t love me.

He’s not coming.

The more I repeat the words the faster and shallower my breathing becomes, and it’s as if the hope I was holding onto has been replaced with a blade, sinking deep within my chest, right underneath my collarbone.

I clutch onto my chest as the tears spill down my face and a sob escapes my lips. Something inside me breaks—it feels like there’s a trench within my heart, a cut so deep that I wonder if it will ever heal.

I close my eyes, listening to the sound of the wind as it batters the boathouse, the wooden walls of the room groaning against the force.

At some point, I’m startled by the sound of a door slamming and I jolt upwards, finding my bearings in the dim room.

How long was I asleep?

I sit up, utterly exhausted. I’m tired of being here, tired of waiting for someone to find me. I can’t help but feel scared and helpless as I’m stuck within these walls, and I hate feeling this way.

And then it dawns on me.

I can rescue myself.

I’m not some damsel in distress waiting to get rescued by a knight in shining armor who’s not coming. I can try and leave again. If I can’t do it myself, then I’m going to try and get someone to help me.

The words leave my lips as I storm out of my room. “I’m not just going to sit here and wait—”

I stop short. Because instead of who I thought I’d see sitting out here, Tanner stares back at me.

“Oh, I think you will sit here and wait,Evi.” He sneers.

My name on his lips sounds like an insult, and I’m uncertain in his presence. His body radiates nothing but hatred towards me, the way he glares at me, his eyes looking me up and down, filled with nothing but anger and disgust.

He takes a long swig of rum—from a bottle that’s already partially empty—before sitting it down on the glass table heavily. He leans back, never taking his eyes off me as he wipes his lips with the back of his hand.

“So, how’s it feel to be unwanted by everyone?” The words drip from his lips like poison and I inhale sharply, my stomach suddenly rolling with nausea. He reminds me of Rhett, wielding his words as weapons just to make me feel inferior in his presence.

I shake my head, trying not to let his words get to me.

“What? Nothing to say?” His eyes continue to roam over me before he laughs to himself, taking another sip from the bottle in his hands. “It’s funny that you’re suddenly so quiet. Rhett always told us the only time he could shut you up is when his dick was halfway down your throat.”

His words hit me like a slap across the face. I feel my cheeks go red, and I clench my fists at my side, willing myself to ignore him, to not give him the satisfaction of knowing he’s struck a nerve.

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